“The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad…..clouds and thick darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne…..The LORD sits enthroned over the flood…” (Psalm 97:1-2, 29:10a)
Mondays are hard enough, but a Monday with and cold temperatures, should have caused me to pull the covers over my head when the alarm went off. I am not a morning person. I loath the sound of my alarm clock and will negotiate with myself on how much time I really need to get my kids up, lunches ready, and get out the door. I often later regret my estimation as we are all racing to get out the door on time.
There was nothing about today that should have caused me to get out of bed when the alarm went off. But yet, I did; almost as if I couldn’t help but get up. I wasn’t even tired, in spite of staying up too late reading. I came downstairs and went straight to my Bible. It honestly felt as if I was being drawn to God’s Word. I usually have my quiet time once I get back from taking the kids to school, but it was like I needed to meet with God before I did anything else today. Yet, I hadn’t planned on doing that. It felt like a gift. I had a sweet time in His Word, and then a wonderful conversation in the car with my kids about imputed righteousness (don’t be too impressed: I am writing curriculum lessons from Romans and needed to run some concepts by my kids to see if they could understand the analogies I was thinking of writing 😉
After dropping the kids off, I turned on some of my favorite worship songs and sang my heart out to the LORD. But here’s the thing that I found most interesting: nothing about my circumstances today seemed to match what was going on in my heart. The sky was gray. The rain was pouring. I wasn’t staring at a beautiful landscape; I was staring at the back of a long line of cars. And yet, I felt the presence of God in a powerful way as I simultaneously felt my heart bow before Him.
That’s when I realized that God had indeed given me a gift: the gift of seeing Him in spite of my circumstances. The gift of recognizing that true worship has nothing to do with circumstances, but it is the heart’s response to the truth of who God is. My current circumstances are: confusion over a possible new opportunity, being torn over how much to intervene in a situation my middle schooler is facing, financial questions, a packed to-do list and lessons needing to be written. If I looked only at my circumstances, I would feel lost.
Yet, as the rain poured while I sat in traffic, I felt nothing but complete peace. I don’t know what the future holds, but I will hold fast to the One who holds the future. My worship has nothing to do with my circumstances, but everything to do with my Savior. The rain pouring reminded me of God pouring out His grace on us. As I looked at the puddles forming all around, I saw them as pictures of the overflow of God’s presence in the lives of His children. He rains down His grace on us and then fills us to overflowing with His presence so we can share His love with those around us.
By God’s grace, and nothing more, I was allowed a glimpse of His glory in the midst of a rainy Monday morning. I am so thankful and humbled by the time I was able to spend with Him today. And I know it was not coincidence that my Bible study lesson was on David’s complete and total worship of the LORD when he brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.
Seeing God in the pouring rain, sure made a glorious start to a gloomy Monday!
I pray that you will SEE God in the rain today.
Jennifer Bleakley
Animals are my love language. Sharing stories of hope is my passion.
